Watching Her Heart Soar
by le.etoile
Summary: Closing her eyes and outstretching her arms, she desired to be closer to the sky. It gave her hope, freedom, and love. All the things she could only get by dreaming - And so she dreamed. IchiHime one-shot/song-fic


_O_O Woooah, angst. Anywho, I've had this idea in my head for a while... Kinda... More or less the whole "Defying Gravity" prompt. -_- Too bad this didn't turn out like I'd wanted it to. And I think I might've gotten kinda, erm... Inspired by cracker's fics? O_O I was reading them all day today (cept for those silly M-rated ones... XD JK, I'm sure they're good, I just don't want to read them at my age. ;] ), so yeah... ^^; I'll just let you read it._

**.disclaimer. _I do not own Bleach, and I never will... *cries*_**

_

* * *

_---

_Something has changed within me_

_Something is not the same_

_---  
_

Orihime looked out the window, taking in a sharp breath. Her eyes blatantly looked at everything else but the chalkboard in the front of the room. She knew she was missing the lesson, but she just didn't care, as much she hated herself to admit it.

But for some reason, things just didn't sit well with the auburn-haired healer, though she couldn't quite tell if it was good or bad. Orihime knew things were different, but she was left wondering if it was best to change or not.

She still felt stuck. She'd been home for a while now, but she suffocated. She didn't have a care in the world, yet the weight of the world still nestled snugly on her shoulders.

---

_I'm through with playing by the rules_

_Of someone else's game_

_---  
_

The bell rang, bringing the teenager out of her many thoughts. She brought her gaze from the window, back to her notebook, with absolutely no notes written. _Whoops…_

"Hey Hime-chan, let's go eat lunch together!" Chizuru exclaimed, making an attempt to molest the auburn beauty.

"Don't you ever learn??" Tatsuki exclaimed, cutting in by promptly punching her square in the chin. "Leave her alone! Her heart's with someone else!"

"Eh?? H-Hime-chan loves someone else?? It'd better not be Ichigo!"

Silence, accompanied by an eye roll and a sweatdrop.

"W-What's with the hesitation?? You're not serious, are you Hime-chan?"

"Ah, don't worry about it Chizuru-chan…" Orihime muttered quietly, waving her hand in reassurance, a light blush spread across her face. "Um, I'm going to go to the… Bathroom. I'll see you guys later." She then spoke, pointing towards the door. Tatsuki nodded in understanding, though she was unable to comprehend the odd feeling she was getting from her auburn-haired friend.

---

_Too late for second-guessing_

_Too late to go back to sleep_

_---  
_

And there she felt it again, as she walked the halls towards, not the bathroom, but the roof.

The feeling of guilt.

It seemed to bubble up more frequently than it used to, and even more so since she got back. She could understand she felt guilty about lying to her best friend, despite it just being about her location, but it was a feeling that arose much too often for her to handle.

The healer didn't think she was depressed. Sure, she may have been out of it and quieter than she used to be, but she was just confused about everything, and many questions wracked her brain, which caused her heart to ache for answers.

---

_It's time to trust my instincts_

_Close my eyes and leap_

_---  
_

The healer took a deep breath as she swung open the doors to the roof, expecting it to be full of people, like normal. She even expected Kurosaki-kun to be there, as he usually ate lunch at this spot.

But no one was there.

She could feel the corners of her lips twitch, wanting to curl up into a smile again at her newfound isolation.

_Thank goodness…_

She went to the bars of the fence around the roof, a light wind caressing her as she stood. She watched birds fly by, and she felt her soul ache once more. Oh, how to be free without a worry…

It looked lovely.

---

_It's time to try_

_Defying gravity_

_---  
_

"I wonder…" the healer mumbled to herself, her eyes now looking for a way over the fence. She wanted to leap, to fly… To reach out and touch the sky. She shivered lightly, slightly questioning her sudden and bizarre new desire.

After looking around the entire rooftop, she didn't see a direct entrance to the other side. Sighing lightly, her heart dropped at the lack of ways to the other side. She turned back around and faced the fence again. Her small fingers gripped the chain links, her heart screaming for more freedom.

Then an idea struck her, and she curved her lips into a smile. Grasping the fence tighter, she positioned her foot into one of the small, yet many holes in the fence, and proceeded to climb over. Her grin grew wider and wider, as she climbed higher and higher.

The healer paused once at the top, trying to decide whether to stay there and stay higher, be closer to the never ending sky, or to simply swing her leg over the fence and crawl down to the opposite side. The latter would mean she'd be closer to the open sky; she'd simply spread her arms out and let the winds consume her.

---

_I think I'll try_

_Defying gravity_

_---  
_

Orihime decided to climb back down, only on the other side. Nothing stood between her and the big, big blue sky. She held onto the fence for a few minutes, just taking in the sights in front of her. Big buildings, green trees. She laughed lightly as she saw all the people that looked like ants, down on the school grounds. _They look so tiny._

Slowly, but surely, she let go of the metal barrier and cautiously spread out her arms. She inhaled deeply, as the winds grew stronger than before, whipping her hair around, messily framing her face.

Has it always been this easy? To calm down, and feel completely free, despite her standing status of no longer being a hostage. All she had to do was open her arms wide, inviting the sky into her embrace. _Everything feels so much better._

_---  
_

_And you can't pull me down..._

_---  
_

Orihime continued to smile softly, as one of her arms now stretched outwards towards the sky – towards the sun. _Just one more step, and I'll be able to touch it… Right?_

She vaguely heard someone yell her last name, though shrugged it off, thinking it was the wind only doing silly things. (Although she liked it when the wind whispered to her.)

Her eyes hovered back down to the school grounds once more, the smile still etched onto her face.

_Oh. _

A small, familiar group of students had gathered together on the grounds, and all seemed to be pointing to her. Tatsuki-chan, Sado-kun, Ishida-kun… Even Kurosaki-kun was there._ Did they want to touch the sky too? _Orihime was tempted to reach towards them or motion to them that they should join her.

---

_I'm through accepting limits_

_'Cuz someone says they're so_

_---  
_

She then quickly threw her arms towards the blue in the sky, both stretching and desiring the touch of what was practically invisible. She didn't deny the fact that she felt _oh so _much better after all this. It was as if she just threw all her worrisome feelings into the air, and let them float away. _I should make this a habit…_

"Inoue!" A blur of orange and black appeared in front of her, wearing a familiar scowl. "What the hell do you think you're doing??" Orihime smiled to him, outstretching her grasp towards him. _Wow, he changed into a shinigami very quickly, _she mused silently.

"Hello Kurosaki-kun! Did you want to fly away too?" she asked amusedly, a temporary high running through her veins.

"Fuck, Inoue, this isn't a game, you could get hurt!" Ichigo's voice was sharp as he spoke. She dropped her arms back to her sides, feeling that guilt creep back into her heart. _Uh oh… He's mad again._

"Ah, sorry Kurosaki-kun. Just trying to relieve some stress, I guess."

"By standing on the edge of a building??"

The healer looked down, the logical part of her brain beginning to work again.

"Ah… I suppose so…" Her fingers found their way back to the fence and tightly held onto cool metal. Why was she so nervous now? She was just fine a moment ago. Maybe it was the return to reality that gave her a new sense of fear.

---

_Some things I cannot change_

_But 'till I try, I'll never know_

_---  
_

"Kurosaki-kun, what's it like to fly?" Orihime asked, her eyes hovering over his floating form. A quick pang of jealousy ran through her thoughts.

"What…?" Ichigo inquired, completely aghast over her current situation and unnecessary questions. He didn't want to talk to her much longer… At least like this. Her being on the edge of the roof was causing a scene, and he really didn't want her to get hurt.

"Ah, sorry, never mind…" The healer stopped, resuming her stretching towards the sky. She didn't want to bother him with mundane queries.

---

_Too long I've been afraid of_

_Losing love - I guess I have lost_

_---  
_

She closed her eyes, and she'd dream. She'd dream of a world of being completely free. No memories of Hueco Mundo, no invisible shackles of everyday worries… She'd dream of being loved by the scowling strawberry in front of her.

"One more step, ne?" the auburn beauty spoke quietly, still keeping her eyes closed and her arms extended. She took one last step out, letting go of all common sense and logical thinking. Ichigo froze, his eyes bulging out of his head. _God, she wasn't considering suicide, was she??_

Except, she stopped right before she stepped completely off. Both her feet were half-positioned onto the cool cement of the roof, and the slightly breeze or extra weight would surely tip of off.

"Wah, this feels so good, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime exclaimed, a sincere smile now gracing her feet. She truly felt _so, so _much better. "I never knew letting go of everything could be so calming."

---

_Well, if that's love_

_It comes at much too high a cost_

_---  
_

"Inoue…" was all the strawberry could mutter. He knew she wasn't insane, but her current motives made him concerned. Very concerned.

"I want to fall. I want to fly… I want to reach out and have someone take my hand…" She opened her eyes slowly, her lips quickly forming into a frown. "To tell me it'll be okay."

---

_I'd sooner buy_

_Defying gravity_

_---  
_

"Kurosaki-kun, is everything going to be okay?" she asked him, her daydreaming state melting away. She was being brought back into harsh reality, were she remembered Hueco Mundo in livid detail. Where she felt chained by simple, every day worries.

Were she knew she wasn't loved by him. She'd never be loved by him.

---

_Kiss me goodbye_

_I'm defying gravity_

_---  
_

He didn't say anything, and she moved so quick, he didn't even see her take that last step. She so desperately wanted to touch the sky... To touch the sun... To reach out to him?

---

_And you can't pull me down..._

_---  
_

And she fell.

* * *

_So... Did she plummet to her doom and death, splattering her body all over the school grounds? Or was Ichigo the romantic hero, and caught her, carrying her off bridal-style to her apartment to show her just how much he really loved her? *wiggles eyesbrows* [/shot] You decide._


End file.
